Nothing about the Curtis Cup Match will be easy for the United States, even with three straight victories in the rear-view mirror.
And that message rang true during Friday’s opening day of play at Sunningdale in England.
The U.S. side ran out to an early edge, but the team from Great Britain and Ireland rallied to pull things even before the day’s end.
U.S. captain Meghan Stasi’s side led 2-1 after the morning foursomes, but a chip-in from Sara Byrne on the 17th hole sealed a 2-and-1 win over Catherine Park and Zoe Campos in the afternoon session, pulling things even. Byrne, from Ireland, was paired with Lottie Woad.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said GB&I captain Catriona Matthew. “At one point this morning it looked like we were going to be beaten three-nil, but then we had a good comeback. The standard of golf has been pretty amazing. The Americans have made a lot of birdies, we’ve made a lot of birdies, and it was exciting out there in the four-balls. I can see in the team that their confidence is growing just from that finish there this afternoon.”
One of the shining stars for the Americans was 15-year-old Asterisk Talley, who paired with Jasmine Koo for nine birdies in 14 holes during a convincing 5-and-4 win over Lorna McClymont and Mimi Rhodes.
Talley made a name for herself earlier this year when she won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, leading wire-to-wire. Then she made her Augusta National Women’s Amateur debut before dominating the USGA circuit this summer.
In the afternoon session, Talley made birdies on holes No. 10, 11 and 13 to clinch the victory.
“I think both teams played extremely well,” said Stasi. “It was a really good start for us in the morning. We had a couple all-square matches that we came back and fought for. I think they’re going to learn a lot from today. It’s a long day out there for most of them.
“I think they’re going to learn a little bit more about each other’s games and just take that into tomorrow.”
Play resumes on Saturday.
Saturday, Aug. 31
1:45-2:05 a.m. – Foursomes (three matches)
7:05-7:35 a.m. – Four-Ball (three matches)
Sunday, June 10
4:05-5:15 a.m. – Singles (eight matches)
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: With 15-year-old Asterisk Talley shining, U.S. started strong, but GB&I rallied to even Curtis Cup Match
